The Reincarnated Hunter Sweeps Up All Fortunes - Chapter 28

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Im Gang invited the Wudang Sect Taoist into his home. Truth be told, he hadn’t wanted to. The renowned Orthodox Sects’ disdain for Ronins was legendary.
But what else could he do? The Confucian Dragon coursing through his blood and the Three Bonds and Five Relationships demanded it. Unless the old man attacked him, he had to show respect.
“Sir, or rather, Elder—I didn’t expect you to come back so soon. It’s only been a day since I entrusted the Songmun Gogeom to you.”
“A day? It’s been four days already.”
“…Pardon?”
Im Gang stood there vacant-eyed, counting on his fingers.
One day.
Two days.
…Four days?
Unless he’d misheard, he hadn’t just slept through half a day—he’d been unconscious for three full days.
No matter how exhausted he’d been, it struck him as absurd. He wasn’t a hibernating bear.
“I seem to have misspoken, Elder. In any case, you’ve traveled far, and I’d wish to offer you some tea, but as I’m merely a Ronin… I apologize.”
“I didn’t come seeking hospitality. Think nothing of it.”
Im Gang brought a cup of clean water instead. For a third-rate Ronin’s home, it would do.
“Then you are of the Great Wudang Sect, Elder?”
At the mention of the Great Wudang Sect, the martial artist’s lips curled upward ever so slightly.
Even someone without the slightest perception could see he was pleased.
“Indeed. I am Cheong Hyeon, a Taoist of the Great Wudang Sect.”
There’s an old saying—praise makes even whales dance.
Cheong Hyeon’s voice took on a wistful tone.
He took a sip of water and asked a question.
“Would you explain the circumstances from beginning to end, briefly?”
“Ah, yes.”
Im Gang gave a brief account of what had happened at the Cliff.
“I fell from the Cliff and was fortunate to survive. I discovered the Songmun Gogeom.”
“…That was far too brief. Explain in detail.”
“Understood.”
He expanded into a tedious, scholarly recitation.
He’d been hired to search the Cliff, came under attack by a Demon Cultivator, the ground collapsed, he fell down the chasm and barely survived, and in a Cave below he found two skeletons and the Songmun Gogeom—that much he laid out.
He kept the unnecessary details brief.
Cheong Hyeon listened in silence, then exhaled slowly.
“I see. So that is what came to pass.”
Sorrow flickered across his lined eyes.
After a moment of silence, Cheong Hyeon spoke.
“The Songmun Gogeom you returned belonged to my disciple. He disappeared twenty years ago.”
“I see. I offer my condolences to the departed.”
“Thank you.”
Cheong Hyeon’s expression grew heavy. He sighed several times quietly, then lifted his head and gazed into some distant void, speaking.
“My disciple was a Promising Young Talent. Beloved by all in the Wudang Sect. When the day came that he was named heir to the position of Sect Leader, there was hope that one day the Wudang Sect would become the greatest under heaven.”
“…”
Im Gang was bewildered at first, but soon realized this was an old man’s lament.
“…Then his trail went cold. I searched everywhere, but in the end I found no trace of him. Twenty years passed without knowing whether he lived or died.”
“…I see.”
“And thanks to you, my disciple can return to the Great Wudang Sect.”
Having finished his brief lament, Cheong Hyeon smiled and looked at Im Gang.
“The Great Wudang Sect does not forget kindness. If there is anything you desire, speak it.”
“…!”
Im Gang’s heart pounded—Thump!—against his ribs.
‘Please teach me the secret arts of the Wudang Sect!’
That’s what he wanted to cry out. This was a chance to learn the martial techniques of the Wudang Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects that ruled all under heaven. Whether the Tai Chi Fist or the Aiguo Fist—mastering even one technique of the Wudang Sect could transform a man’s life.
But.
‘As if the Wudang Sect would teach martial arts to some random Ronin.’
Against his wild instinct, reason remained ice-cold.
Even if this Taoist offered to teach him, problems would follow. What if he met Wudang disciples while wandering Jianghu? In their eyes, Im Gang would be a thief who’d stolen the Wudang Sect’s techniques.
Before they could even verify his story, they’d likely draw their blades and slash at him without a second thought.
Im Gang took a measured breath, lowered his head—
“I did not return the Songmun Gogeom in hope of reward from the Great Wudang Sect. In small measure, it was to honor the departed’s spirit; in larger measure, it was to uphold the principles of Jianghu itself. It was never about seeking compensation.”
…He feigned modesty.
Blood tears streamed down his face. Learn the martial arts of the Wudang Sect and your life transforms, the wretch’s existence reversed—yet he couldn’t study. Wasn’t allowed to study.
‘What a cursed world……’
No wonder people became pessimists. No wonder they turned to Demon Cultivation and became Demon Cultivators.
The real problem in this medieval Jianghu wasn’t corruption between government and politics—was it?
It was while Im Gang wrestled with this sudden clarity.
That Cheong Hyeon, watching from behind, let his eyes crease softly.
“Knowing one’s place is a talent in itself.”
…The words were blunt, but there was no mockery in his tone.
He meant it sincerely.
So Im Gang decided not to take offense.
Besides, what good would being upset do him?
“However.”
Cheong Hyeon stroked his beard and continued.
“In this instance, you’ve misjudged your own measure. More than excessive—you’ve overflowed your bounds.”
Im Gang lifted his head cautiously. Cheong Hyeon’s gaze was grave and solemn.
“Even if you obtained the Songmun Gogeom through means other than what you described, the mere fact that you returned it to the Great Wudang Sect means the Great Wudang Sect owes you a considerable debt.”
Cheong Hyeon stroked his chin, lost in thought.
What could be given to this Ronin.
Something that would repay the debt without diminishing the Wudang Sect’s honor.
He pondered what that might be.
After a moment.
“Would you consider becoming a Lay Disciple of the Wudang Sect?”
“…What?”
Im Gang’s eyes widened.
A Lay Disciple.
One who remains unordained, operates outside the sect, yet may borrow the sect’s name.
Lower in standing than a formal disciple, but it opened a world of difference from a Ronin’s existence.
Suddenly deliberation crossed Im Gang’s face.
Becoming a Lay Disciple meant receiving the Wudang Sect’s protection in exchange for less freedom.
That was a kind of binding.
In other words, ambiguous power coupled with responsibilities far too great.
‘So I have to become a Lay Disciple?’
Cheong Hyeon seemed to read Im Gang’s hesitation and nodded.
“I thought you’d refuse.”
‘But I haven’t said anything yet.’
“Even if you become a Lay Disciple, the Great Wudang Sect’s martial arts won’t be transmitted to you. Teaching a sect’s techniques to anyone outside the Core Disciples violates our code. The martial arts a Lay Disciple learns are certainly formidable, but compared to the Buddhist-lineage techniques you’ve cultivated, they’d fall short.”
“How… did you know that……?”
“Because I’m of the Great Wudang Sect.”
Cheong Hyeon paused in thought, then smiled with an openness that belied his apparent age.
“I’ve acquired martial arts through wandering the Jianghu. They’re not from the Great Wudang Sect, but serviceable in their own right. I’ll transmit to you the Incantation for one of them.”
Im Gang’s ears perked up.
If it was martial arts Cheong Hyeon had acquired wandering the Jianghu rather than Wudang Sect techniques, there was no problem learning and using them.
This was pleasure without responsibility!
“Could that martial art be……?”
Asking carefully, Cheong Hyeon counted off on his fingers.
“One supreme sword technique, one Ascension Realm Finger Technique, and several other minor things.”
Im Gang’s heart came alive again, breathing once more.
Supreme sword technique and Ascension Realm Finger Technique, and other such things.
“Truly the Great Wudang Sect……!”
As Im Gang marveled, Cheong Hyeon’s lips twitched upward.
“Ahem! Such things are basic for the Great Wudang Sect!”
Cheong Hyeon, now in splendid spirits, laughed heartily and spoke.
“Come to think of it, teaching only one technique doesn’t make for fair exchange. I’ll teach you everything!”
Im Gang silently exulted.
Praise makes even whales dance—it had made a Wudang Taoist dance as well.
* * *
The transmission of the Incantations took quite some time.
Cheong Hyeon would recite the Incantation line by line, and Im Gang would follow along, committing it to memory.
Of course, Im Gang had no actual need to understand or memorize the Incantations.
They registered as Skills simply from reading or hearing them. But appearing to merely listen passively before Cheong Hyeon seemed far too suspicious, so he diligently pretended to memorize every syllable.
Ding!
[Ultimate Azure Wind Falling Leaf Sword skill has been registered.]
Ding!
[Ascension Realm Wall-Breaking Finger Technique skill has been registered.]
One supreme swordform and one Ascension Realm finger technique.
Along with several minor arts besides.
Im Gang’s skill roster had grown considerably richer. He’d acquired a whole arsenal of techniques to shore up his lacking offensive power. The names alone were extraordinary.
Once the oral formulas had been transmitted, Cheong Hyeon drew from his robes a medallion carved meticulously with three pine trees.
“What is this?”
“It’s a Wudang Sect Gratitude Medallion.”
“The transmission of your martial arts alone is more than I deserve.”
Cheong Hyeon shook his head.
“My teaching you martial arts was a personal gesture of gratitude as your senior brother. This, however, comes from the Wudang Sect itself. The two are separate matters.”
At that, Im Gang accepted the medallion.
“With the Gratitude Medallion, you can receive aid from the Wudang Sect up to three times. Small favors may exhaust all three uses, or a great one might consume all three pine trees in a single request. Use it wisely, then.”
“I will remember your words.”
Im Gang carefully placed the medallion in his robes.
First the Black River Stone from Hao Wen, now the Wudang Sect Gratitude Medallion. Who could have imagined that the rewards of living with an honest conscience would take such forms?
Indeed, good deeds bring their own fortune.
Before leaving, Cheong Hyeon spoke once more.
“There is one more thing I should mention.”
“Please, speak.”
“Demon Cultivators have become remarkably numerous around Hangzhou of late.”
Im Gang’s expression tightened. It was a fact he already knew, yet the weight one assigns to such news depends greatly on who delivers it.
Especially when that someone is the Wudang Sect itself.
“Some among them are said to be vicious indeed. Since you’ve fought Demon Cultivators before, you’ll understand—at your current level, you must absolutely avoid entanglement with them.”
“I am grateful for your counsel.”
Im Gang offered a deep bow, his gratitude sincere.
Cheong Hyeon smiled and turned to depart in earnest this time.
His pristine white martial robes fluttered softly in the evening breeze as he receded into the distance.
Each step was light and graceful.
Truly, the Nine Great Sects……!
It was a moment when he felt the sting of not having obtained the Wudang Sect’s martial arts.
‘Should I have become a Lay Disciple instead?’
Days passed.
“The boss is the Explosive Demon Army.”
……
The Spider—no, Im Gang—trembled.
He should have become a Lay Disciple.
Facing the vicious Demon Cultivator, he cursed the foolish version of himself from mere days ago.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————